Free Essays - Depression in The Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

Depression in The Catcher in the Rye       The Catcher in the Rye by, J.D. Salinger is told through Holden the narrative in the story.  The put of the novel takes place in the 1940s early 1950s.  Holden is sixteen years old and he has a lot of problems in his life.  He becomes seriously depressed to the extremum he cannot deal with people and life around him. The 1940s were different from today.  However, Holden Caulfield is similar to many other teenagers who go through the same problems.          The 1940s were a time of nationalism.  manpower had to maintain an appearance of a tough attitude.  They were never allowed to let their real feelings show. One of the major reasons Holden becomes depressed is the death of his fellow Allie.  He described is buddy as being nothing only if perfect.  He keeps this guilt locked up inside him because he blames his death on himself.  A memory that haunts him is when he excluded his brother from a b-b gun game.  Another memory that he held on to and was never able to forgive himself for was when Allie asked Holden to go bike riding and he didnt go.  Holden did not have a good relationship with his Mother or Father.  He needed them the approximately right after the death of Allie.  However, we see Holden crying out serve well and attention when he threw a baseball through the window and broke it and still nobody talked to him.  His older brother went off to Hollywood. The only one he adores is his younger sister Phoebe. He is able to talk to her and he thought she understood him.   He could not deal with reality.  He quoted I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. He couldnt depend people not even himself.  He drank to make himself feel better but it just made him angrier.  Many adolecesents go through the same problems as Holden does.  They have no one to turn to.   So they dig deeper into this hole and cant face life. However, no matter what, losing a loved one is probably the most painful loss a person can face.